28 Books in 2008

Challenge Link: 28 Books in 2008
Complete: 17/28 (60.7%!)
Last Updated: 09 June 2008

In Progress

I. Black Sunday by Thomas Harris
II. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain

Upcoming

I.

Completed

I. The Plains of Passage by Jean Auel.
Completed on: 16 January 2008
Summary: Jondalar and Ayla leave the Mamutoi and travel across the continent towards Jondalar’s home.
Thoughts: Overextended scenery descriptions make some portions difficult to get through. I’m shocked that there is a character in this book that is less likable than Broud. Yes, Ayla speaks strangely. It’s not necessary to repeat that fact (multiple times) every time she interacts with new characters.

II. For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company that makes it by Mark Pendergrast
Completed on: 22 January 2008
Summary: A not always flattering, but definitely comprehensive look at the biggest soft drink company in the world.
Thoughts: More interesting than it might first appear. I am now a repository of Coca-Cola trivia. The Coca-Cola symbol cradling the globe and giving it a drink that appeared on the cover of Time magazine and the cover of the book is a bit creepy.

III. Fired!: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized, and Dismissed by Annebelle Gurwitch
Completed on: 24 January 2008
Summary: A collection of tales of being fired from the famous and not-so-famous
Thoughts: Some were much more entertaining than others.

IV. Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille
Completed on: 25 January 2008
Summary: Picks up one year after the events of Night Fall.
Thoughts: Scary because it is plausible. And, Ted (you CIA asshole), please stay dead this time, k?

V. A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho
Completed on: 25 January 2008
Summary: Pro wrestler and musician Chris Jericho chronicles his career through his WWE debut.
Thoughts: One of the better wrestling books. The years he spent in WWE are not covered which sucks. Maybe in the sequel?

VI. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler
Completed on: 29 January 2008
Summary: Stories of teenage mothers forced to surrender their babies.
Thoughts: The double standard sucks. As did the fact that the women were not informed of their legal rights and if they wanted to keep their child they were threatened with thousands of dollars in bills payable immediately. Messed up. Sad and angering book.

VII. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
Completed in: February 2008
Summary: The true story of the life of John Nash, the schizophrenic, Nobel prize winning mathematician.
Thoughts: The detailed mathematical explanations were way above my level. Still a very interesting read though.

VIII. Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris
Completed in: February 2008
Summary: The story of Hannibal as a child and young adult.
Thoughts: I found the idea of a mental palace quite intriguing. This story gives a bit more insight into why he turned out as he did.

IX. Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
Completed on: 22 February 2008
Summary: Lestat’s journey through heaven and hell…literally.
Thoughts: I’m still processing this one…

X. Family Trust by Amanda Brown
Completed: February 2008
Summary: Two people with two very different lifestyles become co-guardians of a little girl. By the author of Legally Blonde.
Thoughts: A bit on the unrealistic side, but not a bad read.

XI. 4 Blondes by Candace Bushnell
Completed: March 2008
Summary: A collection of short stories about four blondes including a paranoid princess and a perpetually single girl who goes to London to shag a Brit.
Thoughts: Yawn. By the time I got slightly interested in a story, it would switch to the next person.

XII. Wrestling Babylon by Irv Muchnick
Completed on: March 2008
Summary: A collection of articles about pro wrestling.
Thoughts: Disjointed, tabloid-ish, sensationalistic, and nearly substance free. Not recommended.

XIII.Theater in a Squared Circle by Jeff Archer
Completed on: 26 March 2008
Summary: A collection of tales about the (often) lesser-known players on the wrestling stage.
Thoughts: Not bad overall, but the (worked?) tale about Bob Backlund seemed incongruous alongside the other (true?) stories.

XIV. Shelters of Stone by Jean Auel
Completed in: March 2008
Summary: Ayla and Jondalar finally complete their journey to Jondalar’s home.
Thoughts: I wish the next one would come out! Quite a few unlikeable characters in this one…

XV. The Hardest (Working) Man in Show Business by Ron Jeremy
Completed in: April 2008
Summary: The actor shares his life story.
Thoughts: Not a bad read, but not worth the premium paid to have it personally autographed.

XVI. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Completed on: 12 April 2008
Summary: Two proper Chinese girls share their lives by writing secret messages on a fan until a misunderstanding threatens to destroy their life-long friendship.
Thoughts: Had difficulty getting through the descriptions of foot-binding. The ‘misunderstanding’ caused me to really dislike the narrator.

XVII. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Roquelare/Rice
Completed on: 30 May 2008
Summary: An erotic twist on a classic fairy tale.
Thoughts: Somebody has a spanking fetish methinks… Not enough interaction between Beauty and the Prince after the first few chapters. I didn’t quite understand Beauty’s sudden fascination with Tristan. It seemed rather sudden and forced…

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